Treading Lemmings (Label-Free Friday)

Treading Lemmings

For the inaugural Label-Free Friday, I talked with Ricky from Rockville, Maryland-based Treading Lemmings about the band, guitar, & their new release, Cliff Notes. That’s Ricky on the left, the one with the impressive vert!  I really like their sound.  I can hear the influences, but the writing & arrangements are fresh and all their own.  Quinn has a very cool & distinctive voice.  The lyrics range from beautiful (All She Wrote) to fun & silly (Talula Does the Hula), and the melodic & jangly guitars complement each other perfectly (and what’s not to like about a band that has a Strat & Ric combo!). They put on a fun & energetic live show. Check ‘em out.

You guys have a distinctive sound, tell me about it:
We call it “American Brit-Pop.” it is basically guitar-driven, high energy melodic rock. We all have slightly different influences, but if you listen closely you can hear elements of them in our sound…The Smiths, Elvis Costello, The Who, The Jam, etc. But we think it is a unique sound that is reminiscent of the great 80’s Brit-Pop and new wave/power pop bands we listened to and learned to play guitar on. But it is our own sound.

How long has the band been around?:
The Treading Lemmings originally started back in the early 90’s, recorded a 5 song EP “Go Lightly” in 1995 and then broke up shortly afterwards. Around 2005, Quinn decided it was time to “get the band back together” and reconnected with former guitarist/co-song writer Andj Stainer. They brought in Mr. Marc to play bass and Steve Snider to play drums. I joined the band as the second guitarist in June 2006. In Jan 2007 Steve was replace with current drummer Joe Zad.

Ricky of the Treading Lemmings. Nope, that photo's not reversed, he's left-handed.

Tell me about your guitars & gear:
I play a 2004 Rickenbacker 360LH with a “Jetglo” finish (black) equipped with the vintage “toaster” pickups. I used D’Adarrio XL strings (11 gauge.) I bought the guitar new from South Paw Guitars in Texas. I totally love my Ric (which is where the “Ricky” stage name comes from). My pedalboard set up is that I go through a Earnie Ball passive volume pedal into a series of 6 Boss pedals: Chromatic Tuner, Overdrive/Distortion, Super Chorus, Super Phaser, Graphic Equalizer, and Digital Delay. I play through a Peavey Classic 30 amp that has a standard Blue Marvel speaker and currently running on SovTek Tubes. I usually get my “crunch” sound straight from the distortion channel in the amp, and then leave the clean channel for the clean sound. When I need a big wall of heavy distortion, I play though the clean channel and step on the Overdrive/Distortion pedal where the drive is maxed out. I’m very happy with my set-up and have been for quite some time.

Talk about this band and the ‘Andys’:
The Treading Lemmings have a history of multiple Andy’s in the band. There have been a total of 5 since its inception. Both guitarists in the current lineup are named Andy. To avoid confusion, one goes by “Andj” and I earned the nickname “Ricky”…for my guitar.

Congrats on the new release, it sounds great! Where can people find it?:
Our debut album is titled Cliff Notes, and was released September 25, 2010. It can be purchased for $10 at any show in the Baltimore/DC area, or online at Amazon, cdbaby, or iTunes.

Got any advice for independent musicians?:
Keep playing. Find people you enjoy making music with and stick with it…I’m almost 47 years old and can’t see putting my guitar down until my fingers don’t work anymore…and even then I’d try to find some way to keep making music… Don’t settle for a half-assed recording process. It took us 2 years (and about $20,000) to finish Cliff Notes, but I am very happy with the finished product. We could have had a demo quality CD done over a year ago for about 10% of that cost, but it would not have been as satisfying. Hopefully we will make our money back, but if not, I have no regrets.

Upcoming Gigs:
10/22 – Chloe’s Coffeehouse in Gaithersburg, MD
11/8 – Private Show at UMBC
11/13 – Potomac Grill in Rockville, MD

The Treading Lemmings Are:
Quinn (Christopher Quinn) – Voice
Andj (Andrew Stainer) – Guitars/Voice
Ricky (R. Andrew Hunt) – Guitars/Voice
Mr. Marc (Marc Roulier) – Bass Guitar/Voice
Joe Zad (Joseph Szadkowski) – Drums

treadinglemmings.com
facebook.com/treadinglemmings
reverbnation.com/thetreadinglemmings

Label-Free Friday features independent musicians, mostly (but not exclusively) guitar-oriented music. If you want me to consider featuring your stuff, drop me a note at 22frets (at) verizon (dot) net. Thanks for supporting independent musicians.

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